1 John 3:9 (KJV)

Passage

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Nearby Context

1 John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

1 John 3:10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

1 John 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whosoever", "born", "doth", "commit", "seed", and "remaineth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whosoever" and "born", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "He that committeth sin is of the..." into verse 10's "In this the children of God are...", so "whosoever" and "born" belong inside that flow. In 1 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "whosoever" and "born" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.